Letters hold more than meaning. Behind them lie movement, rhythm, touch, and memory. They connect hand and eye, writer and reader, past and present, through line and form.

The exhibition focuses on a typeface by the artist Rúna (Sigrún Guðjónsdóttir, b. 1926), which graphic designer Elías Rúni has now recreated in digital form. The typeface first appeared in the late 1950s in the book Glaðheimakvöld, where its distinctive forms and rhythm are already clearly evident, bearing both the mark of the artist’s hand and the spirit of the time.

The exhibition sheds light on the process behind the typeface’s creation while offering a glimpse into a remarkable chapter in Icelandic design history. Here, preservation and reinterpretation, research and design, come together in a work that connects the past with new uses in the present. By bringing Rúna’s typeface into digital form, under the name Rúna, this important legacy of Icelandic type design is brought to light and given new life. The typeface will also be made available on Hafnarborg’s website, where visitors will be able to download it for their own use.

Over the course of a long and varied career, Rúna’s work spans ceramics, book illustration, painting and design. She has received numerous honours over the years, including the Order of the Falcon and the Icelandic Design Awards.

The exhibition is part of DesignMarch 2026.

Opening reception May 7th at 5-7 p.m.

General opening hours, the following weekends at 12-5 p.m.:
May 9th and 10th
May 16th and 17th
May 23rd and 25th